Spiro appoints automotive veteran to lead West and Central Africa

Spiro has appointed automotive executive Auroasish Choudhuri as its Managing Director for West and Central Africa. The electric motorcycle company says he will oversee its mobility business in the two regions and report to Kaushik Burman, its CEO of Mobility. Choudhuri brings more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. Much of his career has involved working across emerging markets. The appointment comes after a major change in Spiro’s leadership structure.

In June, the company raised $270 million and appointed former Indofast Energy CEO Anant Badjatya as Group CEO. Former CEO Burman moved to lead the mobility business. The changes separate Spiro’s rider-facing operations from its other businesses. These include battery swapping, energy infrastructure, logistics and vehicle manufacturing. Choudhuri joins Spiro from DAG Industries, where he served as CEO. He oversaw the company’s operations in Nigeria and Benin.

Choudhuri's automotive experience

Before DAG Industries, Choudhuri spent more than a decade at Indian two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company. He worked as Regional Business Head for Asia before taking on responsibility for Latin America. Earlier in his career, he led international sales and business development at Escorts Limited. His markets included the US, Latin America, West Asia and Sri Lanka. His experience covers more than vehicle sales. He has worked on market expansion, distribution and running automotive businesses in different countries. 

That experience could be useful to Spiro as it expands into more African markets. The company is already operating in several countries, but the electric motorcycle market is still developing in many of them. “Auroasish brings extensive experience in growing and transforming automotive businesses across some of the world’s most dynamic markets,” Badjatya said. “His deep understanding of the sector, combined with his track record in market expansion and operational leadership, will be a strong asset as we continue to scale Spiro across Africa.”

Building the infrastructure around the bikes

Spiro’s challenge is not only to sell more electric motorcycles. Its business also depends on the infrastructure that keeps those motorcycles running. The company uses battery swapping, allowing riders to exchange a depleted battery for a charged one instead of waiting for it to recharge. That requires swapping stations in the right locations. It also requires enough batteries, maintenance and systems to collect and recycle batteries when they are no longer usable. Choudhuri’s experience in sales and market expansion could help Spiro as it builds those operations in new markets. He has worked in countries where customer demand, distribution networks and operating conditions can vary considerably. His experience running DAG Industries in Nigeria and Benin also gives him recent experience of doing business in West Africa.

That is useful for a company trying to expand an electric motorcycle network across the region. Choudhuri said his automotive background and knowledge of West African markets would be important in his new role. “Africa is entering an exciting new phase in the transformation of mobility,” he said. “I am excited to join Spiro and bring together my automotive expertise and experience of West African markets to support the company’s next phase of growth and expand access to affordable, sustainable mobility across the continent.”

Spiro is expanding beyond motorcycle sales

Spiro currently operates in Benin, Togo, Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria. The company assembles electric motorcycles in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. It also operates a battery recycling facility in Nigeria. Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are among the markets Spiro has identified for future expansion. The company is also moving further into vehicle development. In May, Spiro acquired UK-based two-wheeler engineering specialist Coexlion. The deal gives Spiro additional engineering capabilities as it develops and manufactures its own vehicles. 

This is another area where Choudhuri’s background could help. His career has covered international sales, business development, regional management and running an automotive company. Spiro is now trying to build more of its business around the motorcycles themselves. That includes batteries, swapping stations, recycling and vehicle development. The $270 million raised in June gives the company more money to put behind those plans. But expanding the business will require more than funding. Spiro needs to find markets where electric motorcycles make financial sense for riders and where it can build the infrastructure needed to support them.

For Choudhuri, that will mean growing the motorcycle business while dealing with the practical challenges of operating across different countries.

His experience in West Africa, combined with his background in the two-wheeler industry, gives Spiro someone who understands both sides of that equation.

The appointment also comes at a time when Spiro is trying to move from being primarily an electric motorcycle company into a broader mobility business.

Choudhuri will now have to help make that expansion work across West and Central Africa.